So, in the video below, I recorded a mini-review about the parts of y = mx + b, or slope-intercept form. What I hope to achieve here is that people who watch it can get a better understanding of what m and b are asking for when they look at y = mx + b. I also hope for them to be able to plug the slope ( m ) and y-intercept ( b ) correctly into the formula if given those numbers and/or be able to tell which is the slope and which is the y-intercept if given the formula, like y = 4x – 5 for example. In this case, they would find that m = 4 and b = -5.
After learning and messing around a bit with screencasting, I saw some benefits and a few struggles, but that can easily be overcome with perseverance and determination. I am also very happy to finally figure out how those people on YouTube do those “How-To” videos that involve going from screen to screen. Always thought that those people had a really good recording camera that was set up on some sort of amazing tripod and they created the video from there.
Anyways, the biggest benefit I can see is that screencasting can be very useful in filling in any holes that a lesson(s) could have had since, as we know, class time can be quite short (55 – 90 mins) and that not everything can be covered in that span of time. Another benefit is that after the video is made, it is now a semi-permanent resource that can be accessed by one’s current students and future students if one was to teach the same lesson again. Another benefit is that the application is easy and free to use (as far as I know) that one does not have to buy much equipment (except maybe a microphone).
The struggles I found are just some personal struggles that I feel like some people share with me. One struggle is that, even with a script, one can still say too much or too little. In other words, one can go off-script at times. Another is that If one is really nit-picky about their recording, then he/she would probably restart every time he/she makes a mistake. Another struggle is that the “attached” recording equipment can be faulty at times and one would not find out unless they do a test run or until the end, depending on the type of person one is: “being prepared” or “power on through”. I would make a new recording for the video down below, but I wanted to show where these struggles can pop up. And like I said earlier, all of these can be remedied by staying determined and having the motivation to make a good lesson video for one’s students or for the people of the world.
So, I can see myself using this in the future definitely. It was a lot of fun, though I did not enjoy hearing my own voice coming out of the speakers. The idea of making these was challenging. You know, making sure all the basis were covered, my “recording room” was quiet enough to record, my script was a draft of what I wanted to say (Reminder Points), and so on.
Enjoy the video! Hope you learned something or laughed at my mistakes!
Featured Image: Wikimedia
You video looks very professional. I think using Keynote added a classy look to it. Good description of the process.
You make two excellent observation in your narrative -” it is now a semi-permanent resource.” (You can start to create a library of lessons for your students to consult on their own time) and don’t be too “nit-picky about their recording” (I’d rather use time to produce more lessons, than get the perfect. It isn’t Hollywood.)
One final correction needed. Your image is 2000 pixels wide. So it “explodes” across the post. You should replace with a version that is 640 pixels wide. I can show you how